Think and Act Locally

This YouTube transcript captures a webinar hosted by the Better Cities Project, featuring Nolan Gray, an expert on urban planning and zoning. Gray discusses the historical roots of current zoning regulations and how they have contributed to the widespread housing affordability crisis. He and the host, Greg Brooks, explore potential solutions, emphasizing the importance of local zoning reforms and...

This source, a newsletter from the No Agenda Show, provides an overview of the podcast’s recent activities and upcoming content. It highlights the show’s reliance on listener support through various donation methods, including a limited-time “Commodore grant” and recurring subscriptions. The newsletter also touches upon political and social topics discussed or planned for discussion, such as media...

This text is a newsletter from the No Agenda Show, published just before Easter Sunday 2025, appealing to its audience for financial support. It emphasizes the show’s independence from government, corporate, or pharmaceutical funding, highlighting that its existence relies solely on listener contributions. The newsletter outlines various ways to donate, including one-time payments, recurring subsc...

This YouTube transcript captures a discussion from the Dole Institute of Politics about the demographic shifts shaping American cities. Patrick Toohey of the Better Cities Project hosts Wendell Cox, a demographics consultant, to explore urban population trends, the definition of “city,” and the impact of suburbanization. They examine historical population changes, the influence of land-use policie...

This YouTube transcript captures a discussion on the financial and developmental trends impacting American cities. Whitney Alfonso, an expert in public finance, outlines common municipal revenue sources like property and sales taxes, alongside major expenditure areas such as personnel and infrastructure. Dennis Strait, an architect, argues that post-1950 suburban development, driven by automobile...

This YouTube transcript captures a discussion among experts regarding the historical roots and enduring consequences of segregation in American cities. The panelists explore how intentional policies, enacted by various levels of government and the real estate industry, fostered racial and economic separation through zoning and housing finance practices. They examine the motivations behind these po...

This YouTube transcript captures a Dole Institute of Politics discussion on economic development incentives, or subsidies, used by cities. The host and guests, all critical of these practices, define subsidies as government provisions lowering business costs for specific entities. They trace the history of subsidies back to the Great Depression and discuss their evolution, including the emergence...

The Dole Institute of Politics hosted a discussion on effective housing policy, featuring experts Kirk McClure and Emily Hamilton. They explored the complexities of housing affordability, debating whether a national housing shortage exists and examining contributing factors like land use regulations and construction costs. The conversation reviewed historical federal housing programs, with a focus...

This YouTube transcript features a panel discussion on the gig economy, with experts Arun Sundararajan and Steve King defining and analyzing its scope and growth. They clarify the terminology, differentiating it from concepts like the sharing economy and contingent work, while highlighting the difficulty in establishing a unified measurement. The conversation explores the gig economy’s increasing...

This YouTube transcript captures a discussion on poverty in American cities hosted by the Dole Institute of Politics. The conversation features Angela Rachidi from the American Enterprise Institute and Jesus Harena from the Family Independence Initiative, who offer insights into defining and measuring poverty, the history and effectiveness of anti-poverty programs, and the impact of the COVID-19 p...

The YouTube transcript “Poynton Regenerated” documents the transformation of a congested, unsafe traffic junction in Poynton into a shared space. Initially described as a “traffic signal controlled wasteland” that divided the village, the video captures the challenges and the rationale behind the ambitious redesign. The scheme aimed to prioritize pedestrians, slow vehicle speeds, and revitalize th...

This report from Strong Towns advocates for a shift in how cities analyze automobile crashes, moving beyond assigning blame to identify all contributing factors, especially those related to street design. It critiques the current narrow approach focused on human error and proposes adopting a “Crash Analysis Studio” model, similar to medical mortality reviews and NTSB investigations, to learn from...

This audio recording features Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns presenting a conference session to transportation professionals in Kansas. He argues that the design of roadways often prioritizes driver speed and creates an environment that fosters frustration and aggression, contributing significantly to crashes. Marohn advocates for a shift in focus towards designing safer streets that account for a...

La Porte, Texas, in its early years, saw the construction of hotels and various businesses along Third Street. The town quickly developed a strong business community, supported by local families involved in lumber, hardware, construction, and entertainment. Newspapers like the La Porte Chronicle and retail like grocery and ice cream shops also contributed to this growth. These enterprises aimed to...

This newsletter from the No Agenda Show on April 15, 2025, informs “producers” about the upcoming Easter Sunday, which coincides with 4/20. The authors solicit donations through various methods, including recurring subscriptions and one-time contributions, emphasizing the show’s listener-funded independence. They preview the next show’s topic, which will analyze and ridicule the unfounded conspira...

This YouTube transcript features Tom Woods discussing the significant, yet often overlooked, influence of Ron Paul’s political ideas on the rise of the MAGA movement. Woods highlights how Paul’s consistent anti-war and anti-establishment stances, though initially marginalized by mainstream media, resonated with a segment of the American populace seeking alternatives to traditional Republican and D...

The Messy City Podcast features solo commentary from Kevin Clinkenberg, who reflects on a recent discussion with college students regarding time-tested approaches to city building. He argues that many aspects of our current urban landscapes, often perceived as immutable, are in fact the result of relatively recent human decisions and are not inherently fixed. Clinkenberg uses examples like the dev...

This podcast excerpt from the Live Free Now show features host John Bush introducing a recording of Joel Salatin speaking at the inaugural Exit and Build Land Summit. The summit, founded by Bush’s company Libri Academy, aims to assist individuals in leaving urban areas to acquire land and develop rural communities focused on freedom and self-sufficiency. Salatin’s speech, delivered in November 202...

A Strong Towns podcast discusses an unspoken “grand bargain” in housing where most neighborhoods remain unchanged while a few, often marginalized areas face radical transformation. This all-or-nothing approach, stemming from post-WWII development, leads to stagnant areas susceptible to decline and chosen neighborhoods experiencing disruptive redevelopment and displacement. The podcast proposes a n...

This newsletter from the No Agenda Show, hosted by John C. Dvorak and Adam Curry, solicits listener donations through various methods, including recurring subscriptions and one-time contributions, particularly highlighting a themed Easter and 4/20 donation opportunity. The hosts also preview upcoming show topics, focusing on potential US tariff strategies against China and the idea of using drones...

Chuck Marone from Strong Towns interviews Seth Zarin, an incremental developer from Providence, Rhode Island, to discuss a newly released housing toolkit. The toolkit aims to address the enormity of the housing problem by focusing on simplifying regulations, supporting small-scale developers, and aiding in financing entry-level units. Zarin, who has appeared on the podcast before, shares his exper...

This Strong Towns podcast episode features Chuck Marone discussing the current chaotic national climate and relating it to the underlying financial instability of American cities, a problem Strong Towns has long highlighted. Marone connects this broad unease to specific issues like the rescinded federal approval for New York City’s congestion pricing and the dysfunctional business model of the MTA...

This audio recording captures segments from the Richard Lang Autism Awareness Parade in Galveston, featuring interviews with organizers, participants, and families affected by autism. The parade, hosted by Blue Skies Over Autism, honors Richard Lang, and the conversations highlight the importance of community, support, and awareness for individuals with autism and their loved ones. Speakers share...

David and Esco joined Alan Fowler and the Richard Lang Autism Awareness Parade Gang for a fun morning of golf cart riding and fellowship. We had lunch at the Downtown Shrimp N Stuff in Galveston and then everyone headed to the Galveston Pleasure Pier. https://blueskyesoverautism.com/richard-lang-parade.html https://thinkandactlocally.com/donate/ https://thinkandactlocally.myshopify.com/ Youtube -...

This Strong Towns podcast episode features Chuck Marohn addressing listener questions about housing, particularly in Bozeman, Montana. He critiques the current role of local governments in losing money to subsidize limited housing and argues against relying on federal aid. Marohn champions local financing mechanisms like tax increment financing, highlighting Muskegon’s successful approach to build...